During World War II, the warring powers had their planes scatter pamphlets over Europe and Asia. These folders served propaganda purposes of course, but they were also meant as a means to inform the population of the occupied countries – and those of the enemy countries as well - about the course the war was taking.

Especially in the beginning of the war, the Germans scattered pamphlets over the countries they were attacking in Europe. The Allied Powers scattered pamphlets over the countries occupied by Germany, but also over Germany itself and over South-East Asia; in the Pacific regions, pamphlets were dropped by both Japan and the Allies.

On behalf of The Memory, a selection was made of the folders aimed at the occupied Netherlands or the occupied former Netherlands East Indies. The collection demonstrates how the warring powers endeavored to exert psychological influence on the civilian population, the subjects that were used for propaganda purposes, and the topics involved. The collection also offers an opportunity to study the similarities and differences in the psychological warfare of the various parties involved in the war.

The folders were often loose leaflets dealing with one specific subject. There were, however, also ‘air magazines’, such as De Luchtpost (Airmail), De Wervelwind (The Whirlwind) and De Vliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman) These were genuine magazines in miniature format, numbering several pages and printed on thin paper, of course. These magazines were distributed on a periodical basis and contained informative features; the Royal Air Force dropped them over the Netherlands.

In addition to printed matter, small presents were also incidentally dropped over the Netherlands, for instance cigarette and tea packets on the occasion of the Queen’s birthday.